Move over heroes with powers- Viola Davis is here with “The Woman King” to show y’all up. The trailer for the film just dropped, along with our jaws. Davis stars as General Nanisca, the leader of the Agojie, an all-female unit of warriors. Inspired by true events, the fighters protected the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s from colonizers.
Dahomey was located in West Africa (present day Benin) and existed from about 1600 – 1904. It was oft frequented by European visitors and unfortunately became known as a major supplier of slaves. They would conquer neighboring societies and supply their captives to the trade. They had a complicated history to be sure, and it’ll be fascinating to see how “The Woman King” addresses it.
The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood who has shown her amazing action directing chops with “The Old Guard.” The film also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega. The story comes from Maria Bello who is probably best known for her acting roles in “A History of Violence,” “ER”, and “Coyote Ugly.” Prince-Bythewood and Dana Stevens tackled the screenplay.
We got chills watching Davis as the yoked af General try to convince Boyega’s ruler to go to war. There are hints of Dora Milaje vibes in the best way possible. Speaking of, at one point Lupita Nyong’o of “Black Panther” had been announced to star, but had to drop out before production began. Definitely count us in as excited to see the film (with the option to withdraw our enthusiasm depending on how they handle the whole scope of the country’s history).
“The Woman King” hits theaters September 16, 2022.
